SAN JOSE — As the Sharks veteran core ages, a new crop of talent is bubbling up through the pipeline, and the organization is hoping that a deep run by the Barracuda in this spring’s Calder Cup playoffs will help put the next generation on a “fast track” to the NHL.

The Columbus Blue Jackets improved by 32 points this season, landing a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs, just one year after its AHL franchise, the Cleveland Monsters won the Calder Cup. The Tampa Bay Lightning reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2015 only three years after core players like Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Alex Killorn won the AHL’s top prize with the Norfolk Admirals.

Now, after tearing through the Western Conference with a 43-16-9 record, the Barracuda will be looking to find similar success when they open their first round playoff series against the Stockton Heat at the SAP Center Friday (35-26-9).

“If we have a real deep run, it would do nothing but fast track these guys careers,” Barracuda head coach Roy Sommer said. “It teaches you how to win: how to get the puck out, how to block a shot, how to manage the puck with the game on the line.”

“Anyone can lose, not everyone can win.”

The Barracuda achieved almost everything imaginable during the regular season even though they iced the second-to-youngest roster in the AHL.

They finished with the league’s second-best winning percentage (.699), they went a full calendar month without losing, producing a league best 14-game winning streak from Jan. 25 to Feb. 25, and they brought home a ton of hardware in the process.

Sommer, the winningest coach in AHL history, won the Pieri Memorial Award, awarded to the league’s top coach. Troy Grosenick snagged the Bastien Memorial Award, given to the AHL’s top goalie after he finished first in shutouts (10), second in wins (30), third in goals-against average (2.04) and fourth in save percentage (.926).

Last but not least, Danny O’Regan won the Garrett Memorial award, slated for the league’s most outstanding rookie after he led all first-year players in scoring with 58 points (23g, 35a ) in 63 games.

The Barracuda also received standout performances from defenseman Tim Heed, who produced more than a point per game from the backend (56 points in 55 games) and blue liner Joakim Ryan, who ranked fourth amongst all AHL players in plus-minus (plus-27).

But the Barracuda are more than just a collection of individual performances. The team ranked second in goals per game (3.41), second on the power play (23.8 percent), fifth in goals-against average (2.59), first in shots per game (33.7) and third in shots against (27.7).

“The regular season is over,” captain John McCarthy said. “As much confidence as we can gain from all those accolades, we’ve got to turn the page because it’s a completely new season. What we do from now, hopefully, until June is what’s going to define this team.”

With that being said, the big challenge will be how the Barracuda’s 14 rookies manage the pressure of the expectations that come with such a memorable season.

“Coming into the year, there were a lot of question marks because of our youth. No one knew what to expect,” McCarthy said. “But we showed composure throughout the season. I’m excited to see how we react to a playoff setting.”

The Barracuda’s matchup against the Heat will feature a lot of speed and skill against muscle and physicality. In short, these teams don’t like each other.

The teams racked up a combined 138 penalty minutes in a game with three fights on Jan. 25. They went back at it again on April 8, fighting three more times and compiling a combined 122 penalty minutes.

Tensions really boiled over in the rematch one day later after Sommer exchanged words with several Heat players near the team benches, inspiring Brandon Bollig to bonk him over the head with his stick, triggering a line brawl between the teams.

But Sommer, who insists that he won’t be wearing a helmet on the bench, isn’t expecting the fisticuffs to spill over into the series. He said his team’s second-ranked power play should be enough to deter the Heat from trying to rough up his young players.

“Who fights in the playoffs?” Sommer said. “We aren’t going to get intimidated. I know they’re going to come after Ryan and O’Regan, but they’ve played against that all year. We’ll be fine.”